Wolfheart
by darkfire888
Summary: Three boys, three girls. Unsure of the others feelings towards them. But the screech of tires will change that... If it doesn't kill one of them first. A/T S/K J/M rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

OK hi this is the rewrite of **Wolves by Night Humans by Day **and me and my beta reader think its funnier and well to me better so enjoy and review tell me if you like this one better or the other one better.

Summary: Three girls and three shapeshifter wolves. Falling in love. *Wince.* That'll cause problems. A/T S/K J/M rated T just in case.

"YES!" Tea screamed. The last bell rang, signaling the beginning of summer vacation. It echoed over the chatter of students.

"Goodness Tea! You don't have to be so loud!" Mai chided. She was the TA for one of the classes, but had managed to become one their friends. Their friends being Kisara and Tea. Yep. Just the three of them.

"Oh. Sorry Mai." Tea apologized as they left school.

"Mai, give Tea a break. It's summer vacation." Kisara said.

Kisara was a strange girl. She was almost albino-except her eyes were blue, not the usual shades of red or pink. But she had the white hair and pale skin.

Mai laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So you guys want to come over to my house? Mom might even let you sleep over."

"Sure!"

"Yep! Just need to drop some stuff and get some other things."

"Same here."

"Ok! I'll see you later!

"This probably going to be harder than you think, Atem." Seto informed his cousin.

"Well...Um... You never know until you try, right?" He responded, gazing back at the school, having just left it. Already, it was starting to look both desolate and lonely.

"I dun know 'Tem. I'm gunna have ta agree with Seto with on dis one, an' ya know how offen that happens." (I misspelled to do the accent) Joey put in.

Atem began looking around.

"What're ya doin'?"

"Waiting for the world to end."

Seto immediately joined him.

"Yeah, yeah, com'on." Joey dragged them off.

"Ok. What do we do now?" Tea asked three games later. Her mom had relented, and, since Mai was (technically) a responsible adult, had left. There had been a few jokes about counting nine months and decorating the guest room.

"I don't know...How about...Truth or Dare? Kisara suggested.

"Ok."

"Sure."

They sat on the couch. Half and hour, things got embarrassing.

"Kisara. Truth or dare."

"Um...Truth!"

She had no idea what was coming.

"Is it true you like Seto?"

"Well, I-um."

Tea broke out laughing. It was mean, but she couldn't help it.

"I-Yes." The word broke out past her suddenly clumsy tongue.

"Thought so. After all, the way you watch him in class makes everything obvious."

"All right. My turn. Mai."

"Truth." The word of doom slipped out. 'Oops.' was the only word that came to mind.

Kisara got a uncharacteristically evil grin on her face.

"Who do you like?"

Mai took a breath. "Joey. I know it's wrong to like someone who's technically my student, but, I...can't help it. All those cute little idiotisms."

Silence.

"I thought it was Bakura." He was another TA in the school. He tended to get a lot of attention from girls. Must've been the tan skin and wild hair.

"I know."

"Of course, we only have one more year till we're no longer students. Then you don't have to worry."

A growl sounded outside the window at the earlier mention of Bakura.

"Must be that dog again. It'll leave at some point."

"Now, Tea. We'll pretend you said truth. Who?"

She hesitated. A blush spread, covering her cheeks.

"Aww! She's blushing!"

"It's..." She decided to get it out fast. "Atem! He's always on my mind!"

There was panting. Tea stood up, opening the window. A square of light illuminated three wolves? Dogs? Either way, they were beautiful specimens, different colors in their fur blending.

"Well boy. It seems you've brought friends this time."

"Tea. Close the window." Mai said quietly.

"Why?"

"Those are wolves. If they're in the middle of a town, they probably have some disease."

Their ears flattened, a whimper escaping the throat of one.

It had black fur, but the light revealed a red and gold shine. On it's left was a brown one, with a white underbelly. A blue shine lit the tips of it's fur. On the right, the third had a thick brown stripe running down it's spine, which slowly faded to blond, then white. They all had liquid brown eyes, though the first one's eyes had a slight tinge of some color.

"I don't know. I've seen the first several times."

"Alright. Well come on. Close the window."

Another whimper.

"Sorry boy."

The window slammed, the curtains whisking shut. They talked late into the night, of boys and life, till sometime after midnight, when the sandman came.

I would love to recommend my beta reader Sara darkotter got she's all some


	2. Chapter 2

Well, hello folks! Sara Darkotter speaking! Glad to finally be talking with you all! This is actually both my first beta reading and co-author work. Multitasking! Anyhow, for those of you keeping track, you may notice that this chapter is actually a combination of chapters two and three from HBD,WBN. Now take it away, Darkfire!

Take the words from Sara to heart :} any way she got everything and yes she is the co-author

Also, as a special treat, one of my (SD) OC's/muses, Ari, will give the disclaimer!

Ari: Darkfire and Sara (Hail master, my creater) do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. This should be obvious, because they are not male rich twole-upwalk-whatevers living in Japan, nor are they members of 4kids (*ocs* Boooo!) or those two animating companies that did the Yu-Gi-Oh tv shows. Enjoy. *Walking off* I need a doggy biscuit.

"Tea. Tea! UP!" Mai just about screamed. She shot awake.

"Huh! What! Oh. Just you." She calmed down.

"Who were you expecting? The big bad wolf?" A creepy voice echoed from Mai and the face she was making.

"No. Don't diss the wolves. Ever."

"I'm not!"

Kisara emerged from the hallway leading to the bedrooms, and bathroom. Hair still dripping, she sat down on her sleeping bag, beginning to towel it dry.

"What time is it?" The sleepy call was muffled by Tea's sleeping bag, which she had pulled over her head.

"Eight o'clock." Kisara said.

Tea shot up. Quickly she scrabbled to the window. Pulling it open, she gazed into the area on the side of her house. Three wolves were curled in small tight forms.

"What's this about?"

"Sometimes this'll happen. I've gotten into the habit of feeding him when it does."

"Oh."

By this point, Tea had begun to head to the kitchen. She pulled a container from the fridge and trooped out the back door. Mai and Kisara followed.

The second Tea appeared, the head of the black one shot up. Ears pricked, he watched her.

"I've never actually gotten close to him, he only eats when I move away. I call him Yami." His eyes lit up at the name. He stood. His friends were awake, staring wide-eyed at the females in front of them. Slowly, they stood as well. "I one time got within four feet. But then he ran. I still try though."

"So cute." Kisara whispered. The brown one looked at her, head tilted. It was cute.

Tea placed the container on the ground and sat. Wolves stared. Mai and Kisara sat. Finally, the other two pushed the black one forward. Carefully, Yami crept forward, ears flat, body low. He touched the unlidded container. Tea's finger grazed an ear. Yami leapt backward like he'd been struck. Eyes wide, he began to pant.

"Sorry." She shuffled backwards. He just whined, a high-pitched keening tone. In the end, the blond and brown one swiped it, dragging it from reach. It was then that they cleaned it of it's contents.

"So what we going to do today?" Kisara whispered.

"Why don't we just explore the city?"

"Why not?"

"We can start with the mall!"

"Yeah!"

Amazingly, it is possible to whisper and shout at the same time.

A hour later, cleaned up and having eaten, they were wandering through many girls favorite place, the mall.

"Oh! Sale!"

An hour later, they were weighed down with bags, theirs or their friends.

"The first full day of summer vacation calls for celebration!"

"Wish we didn't have to carry these though..."

Then Mai spotted Seto, Atem, and Joey, looking rather lost, by one of the mini stores sit up in the mall hall.

"Hmm... Hey girls, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Well, I don't know Brain. Where we going to find six hundred gallons of glue and a monkey in rubber slickers at this time of the night?" Kisara answered in a rather funny accent. Kisara was a fan of those strange, older cartoons. Didn't know why, just did.

"Kisara..." They dragged out her name, like a stretching rubber band.

"Well. Come on!" Kisara smoothed her blue skirt and shirt, and walked over. Mai and Tea followed.

"Strange."

"Hmm?"

"That they just happened to be at the same mall, same time as us."

"True."

They caught up with Kisara, who was currently thanking Seto, and handing over the bags. Joey and Atem turned to each other, shrugging. They did the same. Tea surprised herself by hugging Atem when he did. Who knew that color was possible on human skin?

"If you and your girlfriend aren't too busy?" Seto butted in. They separated, fast.

"There's nothing fragile in these, right?"

"No... Wh-"

While she'd been talking, Atem had walk over and promptly hit the poor guy over the head.

"Oh. Hey! Don't abuse that stuff! I just bought it!"

"Come on!"

They spent the day, running around, using the poor boys to carry everything. Thankfully, Kisara was kind to poor Seto. Tea...Kinda. Mai was just heaping it on. That's Mai for ya.

Nothing really happened that day. Except one event, about the time they decided to bring things to a close.

They were standing in Domino square, deciding what to do next, when up came three guys. Bakura and two idiot students.

"Well. Hello, Mai." He purred out her name.

"What do you want?" She stated sourly.

"Oh, you know. What I always want. A date."

"When the world ends!"

The arguments were cut off by Tea.

A guy with black hair had walked up to Tea.

"Tea. I know you want me. So quit playing hard to get. Just go out with me."

She turned to Atem. "Can I borrow those?" She pointed to the bags. Taking them, she turned suddenly, hissing like a cat. This had been what had cut off Bakura and a dark blond, who had been saying, "Your hair is like any other." She had been about to put him down.

Tea was surprised. To the point of swearing.

"What the f*ck did I just do?"

This momentary lapse of argument was all Ryou, Bakura's little brother, needed to catch up.

"Umm... Bakura." He was shy, poor feminine sap. And he was sporting a black eye. Bakura zoomed in on this in an instant.

"Alright. Who's getting socked?"

He listed off a few classmates. The four disappeared into the crowd. Ryou glanced back, a apologetic look on his face.

Tea was still shocked about her...um...hissy fit.

"Are you ok?" Atem broke the silence, tan face radiating concern. A shake of the head was the answer.

"I think it time to go home." Mai said, responsibility back in an instant. "I think enough has happened in the last few minuted to keep us thinking for a week."

And with that, they threaded through the streets, towards the two story house (attics technically count as second floors, especially when you turn part of one into a bedroom) Tea called home. Setting the bags in the living room, the guys left. But as he did so, Atem softly stroked Tea's cheek, just for a second. Then they were gone, running down the street, through the river of evening light soaking the sidewalk.

"Well, Kisara. Get your stuff, I'll take you home."

Later that night, Tea was in bed, hugging her pillow, staring at the sloped attic roof, just thinking. Of that soft look on Atem's face when he touched her, so gentle. It had sent this invisible crawling shiver running over her spin.

A sudden thought came to her. When they'd been running back to her house, the boys had taken the lead at times, but had always headed in the direction of the house. Never a wrong turn, nothing.

'Have they been here before?'

Confusing thoughts filled her head for hours, till finally, exhaustion took over, pushing her into it's black waters.

Well, that's it! First person to say where the whole glue/monkey thing came from wins a free cookie!

Same for the person to guess why Ari needs a doggy biscuit. Without peeking at my account. Anything to add, Darkfire?

No that's it


	3. Chapter 3

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii anyway hear we are sorry it took so long Sara please a few words of wisdom

Hi! It's me! Sara! If you guys want the answers to last chapters questions, PM me, I'll tell you. And here's a tidbit. A title for this chapter could be "Rules of embarrassment #6, #2, and #4".

Enjoy!

"Tea! Phone!"

Sitting up, Tea promptly hit her head on the ceiling. "Ow! Just a-ow!-Minute!"

In her sore head, she was running over who it would or wouldn't be. Not one of her friends. They called her cell phone. Probably a telemarketer or some survey person. But then her mom would have hung up.

"Do you know someone named Atem?"

Tea had no idea she could move that fast. She grabbed for the phone.

"Here she is. She seems rather anxious to talk."

This is what she had been trying to prevent. The cause of Embarrassment Rule #6. Your mom talking to your crush for more then is absolutely necessary.

"H-Hello."

A chuckle. She shivered. "Hello."

"So... How'd you get this number?"

"The phone book."

Tea felt like beating her head on the wall.

"Oh. Um... Well. Sorry. I just woke up."

"Ah."

"By hitting my head. Next time, could you call about, say, an hour later? During the summer, I try to avoid waking before nine o'clock."

"Sorry. I'm used to early risers."

"Why'd you call again? I forgot."

Another chuckle. "That's because I didn't tell you."

"Hey! Who ya talking to?" A new voice sprung from the phone.

"Who's this?"

"Oooh! It's a girl! Mom! Atem's talking to a girl!"

"Yugi!" Atem's voice, faint and frantic, came through. "Heh. Sorry. Little brother." A nervous laugh. "Uh. Hold on a sec."

Embarrassment Rule #2. Letting your little sibling near you when you're talking on the phone to your crush.

There was muffled voices. "K. Back."

"Who ya talking to? Is it Tea?"

It was a female voice. Jealousy bubbled inside Tea.

"Allie!"

There was a few sounds.

"Hey." It was the female voice again.

Embarrassment Rule #2, amendment 1. Letting your older sibling, twin or cousin near you when you're talking to your crush on the phone.

Embarrassment Rule #2, amendment 2. Being on the phone with your crush as one of their cousins, sibs, or twin, older or younger grabs the phone.

"Umm..."

"Hah! It's Tea! I knew it!"

There was muffled shouts to "give it back."

"..."

"Hi Tea. I'd give the phone back to my cousin, but I'm having so much fun teasing him, so..."

"O-Ok."

"You should have seen him before he called. Pacing back and forth in front of the phone." There was a slam and a "Was not!" in the background. "Going "Maybe I should. Or not. Might not be awake." You know. That sort of stuff. Kinda funny, actually."

"He was?"

"Yep."

"Who are you again?"

"Allie, Atem's cousin. You must be Tea."

The jealousy promptly died.

"How'd you know that?"

"He drew..." Something muffled it "...Yearbook photo."

Then, came the sound of "Give it over!" Followed swiftly by a barrage of insults and all that.

"You know, I can hear everything you guys are saying. Right?"

Silence.

Then "Hah! Got the phone back!" and the pounding of feet.

"H...Hah. Hi. T...Tea."

"Hi. So. About this Allie..."

"She's my cousin. Her family was staying over for a week while the water pipes got fixed. They're heading back today, but Allie was being annoying and delaying leaving. She tends to be rather annoying."

"Oh. Ok."

"Anyhow, I was wondering..."

"Listening."

"Want to go somewhere with me?" It came out in a rush.

"Is this a date?" Suspicion crept into her voice, against orders.

"What? No! Actually, I think my friends are calling yours."

"Double-dating. Doesn't prove anything."

"I'll bring Yugi."

"Bring me where?"

"Yugi! Quit eavesdropping damn you!"

Tea pretended to not listen as she thought of something. Then the newspaper that had appeared suspiciously was flipped through. There!

"Amusement park. Let's go there!" Came the joyous shout.

"O..k."

"Oh. Who's Yugi?"

"Younger brother."

"You have a little brother?"

Embarrassment Rule #4. Discovering your friend/crush has a younger or older sibling, and not only not knowing this, but finding out about it in an embarrassing way, and asking a question about who they are.

"...Yeah..."

"K! Bye." Quickly hanging up the phone, Tea leaned against the wall. Sure, she may have just made a fool of herself on the phone, but she got to talk to Atem Motou. And might even end up on a date with him.

She hit the stairs, suppressing a squeal.

Then...

"Who was that honey?"

Mothers.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the long update where working on the story I was able to adopted I love this story so now Sara.

Wow. Long chapter. Over two-thousand words!

Tea stared out at the crowd. Her friends had called, left, were wandering in the very crowd she was watching, and she was still waiting.

A sigh escaped from deep within her throat. Maybe she should go hom-

"Tea!" There he was! A young boy was with him. He had spiked hair, with blond bangs hanging in strange positions around his innocent face.

"S...Sorry we're late. My mom wanted t...to be sure Yugi would be ok."

"Mothers." was all Yugi said.

Standing in the line, Atem and Tea found themselves avoiding eye contact. Silence stretched between them, begging to be broken. They bought their tickets and entered. Yugi had enough.

"What's your dream job? You know, what you want after high school?"

"I want to be a dancer."

"What type of dancer? Does that mean college?"

"Yes. I want..." She looked at the sky. "To be on Broadway, to dance and sing on their grand stages, maybe even act. To hear the silence as the audience waits with baited breath, and the applause when it ends, to see them happy, sad, cry, and laugh as they travel to lands far and near, with me to guide them through the story beginning to end." She looked down. "That's what I want to do."

The crowd around stared. And burst into applause. They moved on a few minutes later, as Atem continued to stare at Tea. And then Yugi decided to ruin the moment.

"You going to have kids?"

"I-I" She started blushing. "I don't know. I never really thought about it."

"I think you would make a great mother."

Tea showed great resemblance to a tomato.

"Alright Yugi. That's enough."

"Hey! 'Tem! You haven't told her what you wanna be."

He looked at her.

"I..."

But before he could say anything, a girl with long black hair, and brown eyes came up to Atem.

"Atemeepoo! how are you? I haven't seen you for days!"

Atem's eye twitched at the nickname.

"Hi Vivian. nice to see you again." Tea said, sarcasm easily heard in her voice.

Vivian. Pretty much everyone at school knew that name. If only just because she was so annoying. She liked all the hot/cute/popular guys at school, would give them annoying or disgusting (usually both) nicknames, follow them around, get upset when they turned her down, start rumors or try to otherwise hurt those they went out with, you get the idea.

"Do I know you?" She replied hauntingly.

She probably didn't. Tea wasn't well known. Which was just the way she liked it.

Yugi looked at her.

"Who are you?"

"Awww!" She started hugging him.

"Put him down." Atem said.

"Sorry! But for a middle schooler he's so cute!"

"Middle school?" Tea choked.

"Um.." Atem tried to think of what to say.

"Psst! Yugi! What say we go off somewhere? You know you want to."

Vivian wasn't quiet enough. Atem stiffened.

"How do you know his name? For that matter, how do you know he's a middle schooler?"

"I-"

Atem whirled, grabbing the collar of her pink shirt.

"I put up with you hitting on me to be polite. You overstepped the line at my brother."

Vivian was horrified to see his canines as he growled out his words. They were amazingly sharp. Like dog teeth.

"If I ever see you near him again, I'll break both your arms. Now get out of my sight."

He threw her backwards.

Vivian scrambled off.

Watching her push through the crowd, silence dropped in like a stone.

"So. Yugi's a middle schooler." Dead statement.

Nervous laughter came from them.

"Yeah. An eighth grader actually."

"..."

"He's short. I know."

"Um...Oh look! Joey!" Yugi pointed to the blond, who was being dragged around.

The three started snickering.

"Such a cute couple."

"Does he win her teddy bears at game booths?"

"Aww!" Yugi clasped his hands together, fluttering his eyelashes. "Will we be invited to the wedding, I wonder?"

Still snickering, the three wandered into the crowd.

Several rides later, Yugi was hungry, Tea was tired, and Atem was both because he rode the roller coster twice in a row and threw up.

So they left.

There was an ice cream shop. So Yugi pulled them in.

The cool air greeted them, tasting of the many flavors sold, all blended into a delicious mix.

Sitting with their ice cream, Atem bathed in the relief it brought his now sore throat.

Yugi was eyeing Tea's chocolate ice cream with a slight worried look. Atem didn't quite understand.

Ok. Maybe he did a little.

He was allergic to chocolate. Just like dogs, some wolf-shifters were allergic to the substance. Of course, his cousin and best friend weren't.

It gave him a stomach ache, gave him chills, and enough gave him a fever high enough for hospitalization. Not fun.

Why was Yugi worried though? He'd have to...oh. His brother was worried that if his dear older brother tried to shove a tongue down her throat it would make him ill.

Hooray for annoying siblings.

Knowing Yugi, he was already planning the wedding and would be sneaking into her house to get her dress size.

"Well, we going to leave?" Yugi asked suddenly, finishing off his mint ice cream. Geez, that kid ate fast.

Tea stared at her half eaten one.

"Just a minute."

And so, barely a few minutes later, they were on their way, Atem still eating.

"Um..Tea?"

"Yeah?"

"You've got ice cream right here." He pointed to her cheek.

"Oh. Thanks." She wiped it away.

"In a way, I'm jealous. You can have chocolate. I can't."

"Really? Why?"

"I'm allergic. We found this out when I was six. Ate some my mom had gotten and ended up in the hospital. In a way, it was worth it. It tasted great."

"With you there. I really pity you. Valentine's day must be a pain, what with all those fangirls giving you a hospital ticket every time you turn around."

"Yes."

"You know what we do every Valentine's day?" Yugi asked, all innocent.

"No. What?"

"Have a bonfire. Lace looks great on fire! And scented cards turn the flames awesome colors!"

Tea just looked at them.

"Yeah. Yugi, Seto, and Joey gorge themselves on chocolate, I sit back and eat the few lollipops I always get. There's never any name on 'em though."

Tea was now thinking about the three or four lollipops she would always bundle up and shove in his locker, because all the chocolate out there was too expensive or seemed stupid, and besides, her dad always gave her about her mom and her about twenty of those heart-shaped creations every year. Each. So it worked out fine.

"Um...well...see...I know who does that."

"Really?" Atem glanced at her.

Tea found her shoes very interesting. "Ifmame..." She mumbled, distorting the words.

"Speak clearly, look up. It's not befitting of you to act like this." Atem told her sternly.

Her mouth became dry. "I-It wa...wa...was m-"

"You? Really?"

Tea froze, nodding mutely at the sidewalk. Glancing up, she noticed they were staring. She became overcome with nervousness. Turning, she ran.

She ran till her lungs and legs burned, till the sun began to set, till she collapsed on her porch, not knowing how she got there, crying about how she'd just run away from the guy she liked. What would he think of her now?

He heard a whine. Looking up, off to her right, she saw Yami. A tiny smile cracked her face.

"H-here boy."

He shuffled forward, inch by inch, till his nose touched her palm.

"Good boy." She whispered.

Atem was ashamed he had to act so dang shy around Tea in wolf form. In reality, he wanted to leap up, lick her face, cuddle up next to her. But it would seem strange and be stupid for him to act that way. He looked at least part wolf. She might be suspicious of such behavior from a supposed stray.

He'd been sitting in the same spot for three hours. That's right. THREE HOURS! Where was she? Hurt? Injured?

Oh. Here she was. Running up the yard, collapsing on the porch crying. He whined. What was wrong?

She looked up.

"H-here boy."

She sounded heart-broken. He inched forward. The world seemed like it was going to explode, when he finally touched her palm.

The touch of her skin. So smooth, it sent a lightning shock through him.

"Good boy."

He licked the back of her hand.

Tea giggled.

Reaching up, Atem began to lick the tears from her face.

Yes, he was taking advantage of the wolf form to be close to her. Yes, he would be killed if she ever found out. He didn't care.

Tea began to giggle again as his tongue swiped her face.

"Ok, ok, I'm clean! Really, if I wanted a shower I'd go inside."

He sat back.

"I wonder... What does he think of me now?"

Atem placed a paw on her leg.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

He whined. The not being able speak thing was annoying, but in wolf-shifters, the ability to speak human languages didn't happen till the magic judged you mature enough. Which meant he'd have to wait till the teen years passed.

"Here. I'll start over. See, I went somewhere with a boy I like, named Atem..."

He listened to their "date" from her perspective.

"...and at that point, I got so nervous, I just couldn't take it, and ran. Man! He must think I don't like him, or don't care, or something!" She put her head on her forearms, set on her knees. "Love is confusing and stupid."

Atem thumped his tail in agreement on the porch.

She stroked his head absentmindedly, stroking perked ears.

'More.' Atem thought as his eyes glazed over and he began to pant.

Suddenly, he rolled over, unable to take it all. Head in her lap, he gazed at the upside-down world.

Tea, knowing as many people did, that doing so was in a way a show of trust, began to give him a belly rub.

Atem knew he must be whining slightly as he reached his forepaws out, batting at the air.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps from inside her house. He jumped up. They were coming this way. He jumped off the porch into some bushes.

The door flew open and Tea's mom stepped out.

"Here you are! Great news!"

"What?"

"You're going to have a new sibling in nine months!"

Tea jumped up, hugging her mom.

Her mom went in and Tea began to follow. Then she turned back.

"You wanna come in boy?"

'Yes. I do. I want to sit with you and have you give me another belly rub. I want to sleep with you. So yes.'

But instead he whined and backed off.

"Oh well. See ya Yami."

The door closed with a click and Atem lay down.

He woke, not realizing he'd fallen asleep. A brown-blond and a brown wolf stood over him.

"Hi Joey, Seto."

"Hey. How'd things go yesterday?" Joey asked.

"You first."

"Well, we went to several rides and game booths and I walked her home. Then we went inside for a few minutes and..."

What was that mark on his neck? It couldn't be!

"I kissed her and it turned into a make-out session."

Ok. Maybe it was a hickey.

"Kisara and I mostly walked around."

"Any action later?" Joey ribbed.

"No! I kissed her on the cheek at the door. That's it."

"Atem?"

"She ran off on her way home. Got really nervous apparently. So I waited as a wolf here for about three hours. And then at some point after she got back and explained why she was crying, she gave me a belly rub. Gods, that was nice."

"..."

"I'm part canine. Sue me."

"She had her hands on you."

He blinked. "Yeah."

"Imagine if you were human."

He imagined it.

When he began to pant his friends probably got nervous.

"On second thought..."

They left, Joey and Seto running, Atem kinda dizzy.

They were already two streets over when they heard the screech of tires and a cry of pain.

Ya I have nothing to say how about you Sara?

I like Yugi's whole "bonfire" quote.


	5. Chapter 5

Wee! Two chapters in less than two weeks! I'm too excited to breath! *faints*

I walk in see Sara on the ground "you fainted again"? I shake my head then leave

Tea was helping fix breakfast.

A sudden, sharp screeching as someone skids. Then the loud thump and the wail of pain.

She ran outside.

Yami. Lying in the road, as some drunk on his or her way home swerves around on the street.

She ignored it as she ran to the wolf.

His black fur was stained with blood, seeping into and clotting fur. Brown eyes sharp with pain, sparkling in the early morning sun.

She heard shouting. Looking up, Tea saw Seto and Joey, running towards her.

It was only six in the morning. Why were they here?

Yami whined.

"Help!" She called out. "I can't move him on my own!"

The two took up positions and began to help her drag him off the cold black road.

"I'll go call a vet."

"No." Seto said.

"What?"

"You can't, Tea."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Why?"

"BECAUSE!" Joey snarled.

Tea backed up. But refused to back down.

"I'm going to."

"NO!"

"Then explain why I can't."

"You're brave Tea." Seto said. "But stupid. Do NOT continue to test us."

"Is that a threat?" She snapped.

"It's not like a vet will help anyway!" Joey shouted.

"What?" Tea was curious.

"Nice going, idiot." Seto whispered. He turned to her. "Listen. What we're about to tell you, you tell no one, or we will hunt you down and kill you, I don't care how much Atem likes you."

She nodded.

"We're not completely human."

She started laughing.

"What? You vampires, living off of others blood?"

"No. And don't mock them. We are shape-shifters."

"Huh?"

"We are born with the ability to take a form other than human. We're wolf-shifters, we take a wolf form. We have to, daily, to keep sane and in control of ourselves. Or at least MORE in control." He looked pointedly at Joey. "Nothing can be done about the idiocy of teen years."

"About this shifting thing..."

"It means not all doctors and vet treatments work with us. Most of us visit homeopaths and naturopaths for medical needs. And I'd be careful Tea. I think you may be one of us. Remember your hissy fit a few days back?"

"What does this have to do with Yami?"

"This."

Their bodies began to shift some.

Joey growled something.

It was only ears and a tail. But then their eyes turned a liquid brown.

"Yami is Atem, isn't he?"

"Smart girl." Their voices sounded strangely musical. Like howls.

She began to blush. Yesterday she'd been giving him a belly rub!

"I need to go."

She wanted to escape all this strangeness. She took off running.

A strange twisting strangling filled her.

Her legs were burning.

Stopping, she realized she was down near the water, near the sea. The twisting was getting stronger.

A sudden pain exploded in her body, as she felt her limbs elongate and she fainted.

She woke to sound. The sea was roaring.

Her ear twitched.

Wait. Twitched?

Her eyes opened.

Everything was too bright, the details too fine too far away. The angle was wrong.

Staring down, she took in the fur, the paws, the claws. Twisting, she noted the cat form.

She jumped back, until she remembered.

'You may be one of us...'

'Hissy fit...'

Calming, she began to try to control this form. The added limbs made it rather hard. Eventually though, after stumbling around some, Tea got the hang of it.

The sun's position showed she must've been out for a few hours.

She wanted someone familiar. She wanted Atem.

Tea began to wander the city, searching for his scent. It would've helped it she kew what it smelled like.

Once she saw Kisara, looking for her. She'd run up, mewed, tried to talk to her. But couldn't. Instead, Kisara began to follow her.

It was beginning to get dark. Then she ran into a brown wolf. It was Seto. There were several people throwing stones at him. Kisara, the bit of the weakling that she was, leapt out there.

Tea could only watch as her friend dragged the poor thing away from the throws.

Both Seto and Kisara were covered in marks where the rocks had hit. But Atem's scent was lingering there. She had it now.

But she stayed. And watched jealously as Seto switched forms so easily and quickly.

"So. This is where you are, eh Tea?" He asked her.

"Leave me alone." She mewed.

Kisara was still staring. Tea left as he began to explain.

She had the scent. She was beginning to wonder if it would ever be possible to train cats to track scents.

A house. just a regular, white painted, two-story house.

The top story window was open. It took some clawwork.

And there was Atem, a god in his own right.

He was lying down. A grimace of pain marked his features. Bandages covered his chest, but she could still see them ripple as he moved.

"Huh?" He noticed her shadow.

Her tail waved.

"Hello kitty. What're you doing here?"

Seto had known it was her. Why didn't he?

She jumped down.

"Atem!" She meowed.

"Tea!"

Now he knew her.

"You're a cat."

"Just found this out at... Seven AM maybe?"

"You're rather pretty." He blushed.

She jumped onto his bed.

"I can't change back though, and my mom and friends are worried."

"Hmm..." He looked away. "Well, see the thing us, most of us don't really learn how to do that for a while. Instead we sleep."

"You telling the truth?"

"Ask my mom. She's right behind you."

She whirled around.

She was a pretty lady. Her hair two shades of brown.

"Who's your friend?"

"CAN SOMEONE JUST TELL ME HOW TO BECOME HUMAN AGAIN SO I CAN GO HOME AND STOP WORRYING MY MOTHER?

"Calm down. It's alright. Here. I'll take you home and explain to your parents the wonder of shape-shifting. K?" The woman picked her up.

"Wait. Um... Could I talk to her a few minutes?"

Atem was blushing.

Tea was put back on the bed.

"So..." Tea looked at him.

The door closed.

Swiftly Atem switched forms, and pinned her down with a foreleg. Covering her face with licks, he cuddled against her for a few minutes.

"Sorry; had to do that."

"Had or wanted?" She murmured, dizzy.

"Ok; Wanted."

Tea went home, wishing it was possible to never clean her fur ever.

The car was warm, the seats comfortable, she almost fell asleep. But they drove up to her house.

Mrs. Motou was gentle as she picked her up and knocked on the door.

"Hello-Ami!" Her mom said suddenly. "I haven't seen you since high school! Come in!"

"Yes. It has been a while, Cara."

"So why are you here? And," She held up a photo of Tea. "Have you seen this girl? She's my daughter. I haven't seen her all day! I'm getting worried."

"Do you believe in magic, Cara?"

"Why do you ask?"

Tea jumped down and curled by the fire.

"Because...That cat is your daughter, Tea."

Cara looked at her. "Are you ok? Should I call a doctor?"

"I'm fine. And it's true. Remember in high school? That shape-shifting stuff I told you about?"

"Yeah..."

"It's real. Always has been."

"Prove it, Ami."

She sighed.

Suddenly, she began to shrink rapidly as feathers grew from her body and arms and her face morphed.

A hawk stood before them.

"Do you believe now, Cara? Your daughter can shift forms. She will need to for the rest of her life. I have much to tell you about this, because your memory needs refreshing, apparently."

She shifted back.

"That really you Tea?"

"Yes." She mewed, though she knew her mother didn't understand.

"Sit down. We have much to teach you."

And so began the lesson.

Learning to shape-shift, she would need to sleep to turn back at first.

She needed to shape-shift everyday, or it would drive her insane. However, staying in her form too long would make her forget her humanness.

She won't be able to talk until the magic judged her mature enough.

Just all these rules. She drifted off.

The morning sun shone on her. She woke a human.

Almost. Her vision was sharper than it used to be. Hearing too.

"Oh. Tea. You're awake."

"Hi mom." She yawned.

Welcome to her new life. She was now a magical being.

*Evil laugh* That's right. Enjoy while you can. Soon you will run into Atem, and have an awkward time!

I don't know who I feel worse for me or Tea anymore


	6. Chapter 6

This is an interesting chapter. Some of it flipped my stomach.

Mine too it was creepy.

Kisara woke.

She'd saved a wolf that had become Seto. He'd told her about this...shifting.

They'd run into some people who weren't very friendly.

She'd fainted as a twisting feeling filled her.

Her eyes opened.

She was in a house. Not hers.

"You're awake."

She twisted her head to find the source. Seto.

The world was strange. Her hearing, her sight. Too fine, too sharp.

"You were amazing. A great dragon. They ran just before you fainted and reverted back."

"Wha-"

He hugged her. "I was so worried though."

She felt like she could fly over the clouds. Or maybe she could.

"You were beautiful. Shimmering white, everything. Scales, claws, wings. With pure blue eyes."

She imagined those large white wings. She wanted to fly.

Something felt strange on her back.

"Is there a bathroom?"

"Over there." He pointed.

In the clean tiled room, she peeled off her shirt.

Large bat wings, of the purest white, folded tight against her skin.

There was a swiss army knife in her pocket, because her mom always insisted she had something to defend herself with.

Laying the shirt on the floor, she cut in between the threads. (the eyesight was useful) When she was done, she had hidden slits in her shirt.

She pulled it back on, and sighed when the wings came through. It felt better to let them breath.

"You ok-Wow. Nice wings." Seto was in the kitchen.

"Yes. I have to go home though. It's" She glanced at a clock. "MIDNIGHT? MY MOTHER WILL KILL ME!"

"Ok. Just..." He leaned forward, cupping her cheek gently before pressing his lips against her own.

It was warm and heart-racing and Kisara was sure she had melted into the ground. Or maybe him. Her wings flapped with her efforts to respond, pushing their bodies gently together. Her lungs began to shout, and then scream for air as she finally broke away, panting.

She left, feeling warm all over.

But later, she wondered. Why was there no sign of any other family at his house?

(Time skip)

Tea was getting used to this. Every evening, she would go out for a few hours, explore and come home to sleep. She found out a lot. Like the elderly lady the people younger than adult tended to avoid because she looked funny was named Ella and really kind and sweet, she'd just had an illness in her childhood that crippled her and such. She'd made a mental note to need to borrow a cup of flour one day.

And the two brats next door were worse than she thought. They tried to hang her for "intruding on the property of others without permission". Her mother had put a stop to that.

All these interesting things she would had never realized.

It'd been about four weeks since she had learned to do this. She was heading to visit Ella.

"Well boy. Where have you been, huh?"

A bark. Translation: "Here and there."

She jumped on the fence.

It was Atem, sitting on her back porch.

"Oh! Kitty! Here you are! Meet Ryan."

She jumped down, and ran over. Sniffing noses, she rubbed against her legs and sat next to him.

"I had a son named Ryan. Kind boy. Then one day he turned eighteen and just up and disappeared."

Her ears pricked as she licked herself. Her dad's name was Ryan. He was pretty nice.

"Must've been the husband I had at the time. He was so cruel at times. But I loved him..."

Atem placed a paw on the woman's shoulder.

"My father's name is Ryan. He's nice. He ran away from home at eighteen because..."

Atem looked at her. "...Of his father..."

"I still wonder...Where are you going girl?"

"I'll be back!" She mewed.

In the alley, she took off.

"DADDADDADDAD!" She pawed at his leg.

"What? I'm coming."

She led him down the alley.

"What Anzu? I'm busy."

Anzu was his cat name for her. It kept suspicion away about calling a cat after his daughter.

"DAD! THIS IS IMPORTANT! I DON'T CARE IF YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND ME!"

"It's ok Anzu."

He looked up. He squinted.

"Mother?"

"Ryan?"

They looked at Tea.

"Mew."

She jumped down. As her dad and grandmother, apparently, talked, she and Atem slipped away.

"So. You better?"

"Much. You getting used to this?"

"Yeah."

They sat in the alley behind all the houses.

And she watched enviously as he switched forms. She closed her eyes, wishing. Concentrating on that.

Suddenly, there was the strange feeling in her limbs. Growing and shrinking. She opened her eyes. She was a person. Atem pulled her to her feet.

He looked at the hand he was holding.

He kissed it. Tea began to blush heavily. She hated when she did that.

Atem looked at her from under his bangs. It was kind of cute.

Reversing his grip, their fingers tangled as he pulled her into his arms. So close together. She could feel his heart, every breath, every twitch of the muscles hidden under his shirt. His face just inches from hers, every warm breath lighting her cheeks, combining with her own.

Their faces drifted close together, and Tea didn't notice until it was too late. Their lips brushed softly as a butterfly wing. Her eyes began to close of their own accord, as they pressed closer, closer and she began to dissolve, feeling as if they were the only creatures in the world. Only their lungs brought them back to the real world.

"Hey! You twos! Get some decency!" The drunk began to stagger away, complaining about how kids these day had no respect, making out in public.

"Well. There are worse drunks in the world."

"Very true."

At this point, Tea noticed the streetlights were on.

"I'd better get home." She turned, heading down the alleyway, passing fences on either side.

Atem followed.

About to jump her fence, he grabbed her from behind, wrapping strong arms around her shoulders.

"Atem!"

He nuzzled her neck.

"Atem. I need to go."

"Don't want you to." He mumbled.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Don't care."

Silence. He kept cuddling her neck.

"Atem..."

"Fine...But I want to see you tomorrow."

He drifted away, and she hopped the fence. Stopping in the bathroom on the way to her room, she noticed something.

A red spot on her neck.

He'd been cuddling awfully close back there...

It was all she could do to keep from storming back out there.

How was she supposed to keep a hickey secret from her friends?

How indeed?

Help I'm with this crazy person


	7. Chapter 7

S/N: Hiya! Sorry this took so long! Things happened, I had my bat mitzvah, flashdrives crashed, writers block crashed, etc. Read and enjoy!

Yep sorry for the long wait  
-

Tea sat on the back porch. The rumble of a car as her parents drove off. They were heading out to her other grandma's, her mom's mom. From here she could see why.

A few small monuments. She was her mother's only child ever carried to term.

There was Skie, Kyou, Miki, all miscarried. And then there was Rose.

Stillborn. Tea had been thirteen.

Her parents had taken a vacation with her grandma while carrying Tea. They hoped it might work this bundle. Tea hoped so too.

Atem hopped over the fence. Maybe he'd never noticed them before, because he stopped to sniff them.

"Don't touch those. Please." She tried not to sound as choked as she felt.

He looked at her. She could see his very being light up at the sight of her.

But then it saddened. He'd picked up on the upset note, quivering in the air. He bounded over, sitting besides her.

"Hi Atem."

He whimpered. "_What's wrong?_"

"Nothing."

"Liar." He breathed in her ear. He'd switched forms on her.

"Am not!" She whirled around. 'Note to self. Think before I act.'

She was nose to nose with him, staring into his eyes. She felt her insides melt at their gentleness. But first her stomach flipped as her heart ran a marathon through it.

"Tea..."

She found herself at a complete loss for lies.

And so she told him.

He sat in silence for a few minutes.

"You know, I was born a twin."

Tea stared at him.

"There was something that seemed wrong with him. My grandfather on my mom's side said to get rid of him. He died some months later."

Tea shifted forms, crawling into his lap.

"We don't even know how he got away with it. My mother just heard him tell the nurse outside the door to do it. An hour later, she wheels me back in, says little Yami Ari Motou didn't make it. Tried to tell my mother something later when he left, but got called away..."

Tea listened, horrifyingly inthralled.

"I wonder if something really was wrong. My grandfather, curse his soul, was scared of twins. They tended to have strange, uncontrollable abilities. You know. Telepathy, for one. Shapeshifters can get more, cause of inborn magic. Fireballs appearing when they're ticked. It's weird."

Tea reared up, rubbing her head under his chin. An 'I'm here' moment if there ever was one.

"I wonder if I'll see him again."

Tea had had enough of reminiscing. Not to mention someone had kicked her sex drive into gear.

She shifted forms again.

It turned into one of those make-out sessions where you're both messing with each others hair and clothes with a tongue down each others throats.

"Let's take this inside." He whispered, gripping the wrist of her hand, which had been fiddling with his belt.

She only nodded. It's hard to talk while giving someone a hickey.

Kisara stared at the wall.

No, the white paint wasn't that fascinating.

She was staring at the photos over it.

A family of four. A mother, a father and two boys, both resembling Seto.

One looked somewhat older and seemed to be rather happily smiling at his parents, looped under an arm. He was maybe ten.

The other looking more or less a year younger. He was detached. You got the feeling that he was ready to saunter off the second this was done.

"My brother and parents."

"Hmm?" Kisara looked at him.

He tapped the younger brunette. "My brother Kaiba*****.We called him Kai. He was always rather detached, even at a young age."

"So where are they?"

Now that she thought about it, this house looked as if only one person lived in it.

"They got hit by a car the day we took this. My...My parents are dead. Kai lives in a constant coma. They say he just might wake up one day, but little chance and should just turn off life support. But...He's my brother. I-I can't." It all just seemed to rush out of him.

Kisara hugged him.

"I've told him about you. I tell him everything that happens, even the boring things like classwork."

He stopped talking, hugging her harder.

"You think he'd be ok with me visiting?"

"I think he would."

She began to wonder. Could dragons heal?

Maybe.

She wanted to have a happy life like hers suddenly. Where she had both parents, even if they were split, but it was a good divorce. And she had a nice step-mother. Where her family always tried their best, and wanted her to do the same, and would be happy with that.

He was living alone, making trips to talk to a brother who would never respond, living off his cousin and family, no doubt.

She couldn't help anything else, but maybe she could cure his brother.

"Hey Mai?" Joey looked at her.

"Hmm?"

"I was wondering..."

"I'm not helping you with your homework, you're under eighteen and not age of consent yet and if it's a ring I don't want to hear it."

Female minds worked in strange ways. "Actually I was wondering about your family. I notice you don't have any pictures."

"We disagree on many terms, starting with my dress style and one of my previous jobs. By this point I think they disowned me."

"Oh. What job was that?"

"Prostitute, to use the fancy term."

He winced. Bad Joey. Shouldn't have asked stupid personal question.

"What about yours?"

"My parents are divorced. My mom and sister live in the Pacific North-West. My dad spends a lot of time just plain old drunk nowadays. He ignores me, mostly."

"Hm."

"So do you have any siblings?"

"What's your sister like?"

"Gentle and going blind. Do you have any?"

She closed her book. He just wouldn't drop it. She stared at the sky through the window. A summer fairy blue.

Did she? Who knows. She hadn't stayed around that long that year and a half ago. What she wanted to know about was her daughter...

"Mai."

Dammit! Shut up!

"I don't know."

"Oh. Any other family?"

"A daughter." It slipped out, crashing on the floor.

"Who by? Where is she?" He sounded curiously sad.

"My fiancé, who died two and a half years ago. I brought her to my parents house about a year and a half ago, cause I had to start living on the streets again. No more questions."

Instead, he rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

They stayed that way, for hours.

Joey began to think of a plan. That kid had to be somewhere...

-  
S/N: And now for shameless advertising. (If you want us to do so for your fic, let us know!) There's this story called The Armageddons I'm co-writing with another person in the Yami/Anzu section, and it isn't half-bad. It could be better, but it's not half-bad. If someone wants to glance over it...?  
Any problems/issues/things you can't understand this chapter? Bring em to me and let my boundless energy and ability to talk my way out of everything deal with them

* Kaiba was adopted; meaning his last at birth was different


	8. Chapter 8

S/N: Double special to make up for the delay!

Yep yep yep he he

This teen was lonely, in an angry world.

The teen woke. Again. Another person's memory. Goddamn-it. He hated this. Another person's life, happy, with a recently acquired girlfriend and life-time friends.

And here he was, anger-management problems, alone, an orphan.

Of course, the dreams might be the cause of the first problem, which led to the second. The third...

They told him he had no family. Liars. He had a faint memory, one he had always clung to, of an old man, tall with neat white hair, telling a nurse - "Get rid of **him.** That thing is poisoned blood. My daughter agrees."

He wondered if he had any family, or if the dreams were just his tortured mind.

A roar threatened to burst through. At six in the morning, bad idea. His nails dug into the bed sheets and he leapt to the ground. When he landed, he was not a human, but a lion. Bronze fur and thick mane, he paced the floor, occasionally slashing at nothing to watch the light trail his claws left.

"Oi. Lion. Go a'sleep."

Damn roommate. Why was he complaining? Today that couple was coming to get him. He could get all the sleep he wanted later.

Nevertheless, his roommate also had a knife handy at all times during the night.

So he paced in the hall, feeling anger and other emotions burn and slosh.

The carpet snagged his claws, released, snagged, released. A pattern that had begun to wear out over the years. But he was just so -ARGG!

He bounded down the hall, down the stairs, into the building yard. Rearing up, he let his claws tear and scratch at the brick, leaving new fresh gouges to overscore the others.

A claw tore, making his paw scream. Crying softly, he began to lick it.

Kira White, the new person to join the staff, was up early. A radio came from the garage, where she was fixing something.

_Never gonna be alone,_

_From this moment on._

_If you ever feel like letting go,_

_I won't let you fall._

_When all hope is gone,_

_I know that you can carry on._

_We're gonna take the world on,_

_I'll hold you till the hurt is gone._

Why that song? It just made him think of the happy people living somewhere else. This building, no matter what anyone else said, was a building of lost souls. Where children got dumped because their family didn't care. Maybe their parents died. Maybe they were abandoned. Maybe they were unwanted like him or their parents didn't have money to take care of them and everything else.

Who cares? This was like a greyhound, a building of lost hopeless souls, only everybody fought to get attention from visitors.

And once more, the sudden compulsion to run away. To where though? He knew no family, no friends. His world consisted of him, with passing visitors.

The urge grew stronger. He attacked the wall.

Again. Again. Again.

Till finally he collapsed in the light of the summer sun. He switched his form, letting his light skin absorb the gentle sun of early day.

Where to?

The whole world was open. Why should not having a set place hold him back?

He looked so distinctive, but gel, maybe a hairband and some dye would fix that.

Everything he valued could fit in his backpack.

Why didn't he?

For the first time in years, the teen cracked a smile that gleamed in his purple eyes.

Ten PM. Now. Only people left were nightwatch, and he dealt with them. Valerian. Smells nasty, tastes nasty, nature's tranquilizer. Slip some in their tea, they'll be tired if not asleep.

He dropped everything in the backpack, added an extra set of clothes and left. No roommate to call him back, he had left grinning earlier. A family, a life, a beginning.

Right past person one, then two. Shoes and coat, then leave.

Outside, he looked back. Someone, years ago, had tried to make this a cheery building. Bright blue, the wood trimmed with white and window-boxes, it seemed very forced, the building being built to be squat and dark, a creature looming over the sidewalk to grab the unsuspecting. It was a clash.

A lion padded down the alleys and roads, searching for the greyhound station.

*.*.*

A little girl, maybe three, watched her world from her room.

She had grandparents and an aunt, and her parents sometimes argued with her aunt.

"She left the kid here! She doesn't want her! Bet she doesn't know who the father is, and he was just some paying drunk in a bar!"

"You just want to believe that! She was crying as she left her! And then there's the note you both conveniently didn't notice! Her fiancé died! She lost her job because she lost so many days mourning!"

"Trash! That's trash, Eli!"

Silence. "You're so caught up in building lies the truth is unknown to you."

And here she came. Storming in, slamming the door.

"URG!" Black hair, bright blue eyes, large chest.

Then she sighed, falling to the floor. "Don't worry 'Ce." She picked her up and Ce hugged her neck. "We'll get you to your mom somehow."

She was silent, as ever.

*.*.*

This teen, lived in a quiet dream world.

He had wandered it for years. Sometimes it was dreams created by his mind, but sometimes a voice would override the sound of the heart-rate monitor and other machines, and he would be standing in a hospital room, staring at himself and his brother, who would talk to him about what was happening outside of a room he never left.

His last memory was the headlights of a car pain, and then this switch back and forth began.

He had been in casts, years ago. Now he was just a thin figure in a hospital dress, an I.V almost constantly taped to his wrist.

The nurses pity him going "Why doesn't he let him go? He's going to die anyway and this is just painful delay."

But he will wake up someday. Right now, though, he has no reason, and no strength to. And not the strength to find one.

He was wandering a forest here. And a dragon, a bright, white dragon with deep blue eyes rose up. It roared, before it faded to a voice.

"One day..."

S/N: Have fun! Review! Tell us what you think!

Bye


	9. Chapter 9

S/N:I've noticed two mistakes in previous chapters: One, in chapter eight Eli's name should be Ellie. The second, in chapter seven, the asterisk should read "In canon, Kaiba was adopted, so his last name was different at birth.

D/N: wow soo there is good catch

"Atem?" Anzu cuddled closer.

"Hmm?"

"Should we be animals?"

He settled farther onto the bed. The mattress was so comfortable! He might "sleep" here more often.

Then his mind backtracked.

"What?"

She was right. They were animals. She was cuddled against his chest fur, one eye open, questioning.

"I-I don't know."

He was remembering all those times he'd walked into his parents rooms to find them animals. A hawk and a doberman look cute cuddled together.

But this is disturbing.

He rolled over and she hissed in annoyance.

"Hold still! You're my heater!"

Lying on his back, with a cat on his stomach, this was awkward, but cute.

"Tea."

"Yes?"

"We have to get up at some point darlin'."

"Did you just call me darling?"

"Yes."

"Stop it."

"Aww."

"I don't like it. And if you want to be my sex slave more often, you're going to agree to what I say."

He rolled over again, standing over the poor kitty. Then he switched forms. Getting out of bed, he began to dress, trying to resist the urge to glance back at the now human sitting on the bed.

"You have bite-marks on your shoulder." She pointed out.

He did. One, nearly on his neck, had bled at some point, as evidenced by the forming scabs.

"Oh. Yeah."

"S'not your fault. You didn't know it would hurt me."

"Do now. And regretting it."

"Oh come on. Only hurts once. Now leave. I wanna get dressed."

"Yeesh. So bossy all of a sudden." He mumbled. But left anyway. Facing the wrath of an angry woman's bad enough. Angry naked woman is worse.

He walked into the kitchen, started some coffee, and began the act of cooking. Because, despite the stereotype, Atem could cook well, and his mother had discovered how to burn water. He was also convinced his dad should work at a gourmet restaurant.

"What's this?" Téa entered. "You cook?"

"Yep! Just not breakfast food."

She smiled, that one smile that he would conquer worlds to see. "Thanks."

He grabbed a package of pasta. Macaroni and cheese...

"It's noon anyway." Téa commented. Noting the cheese, she began to slice it. "So this is ok."

He drained the pot, put it back, and tossed the cheese on it, stomach not in the mood to wait for fancy.

"So what now? Go bug people?"

"Try not to think about how we've only been dating two months?"

Yami looked at the ceiling. "Card games on motorcycles?"

"That's stupid and insane."

They ate in relative silence. "It's weird to think it's August already. Just think. Soon, we will we will be back in school."

Téa groaned. "Just great."

Atem shrugged. "It's the last year. Then after that, we have our entire lives ahead of us. Our entire lives of you, me, New York and anywhere Broadway sends us."

Téa smiled, getting herself a plate.

Together, they sat down to eat. Being magical beings tends to increase appetite.

"I wonder... Will I get a sister or brother?"

"First day math homework on girl."

"Alright then. I'll raise you an afternoon of cuddles."

"That's a win situation. One of us will have to do math, but then we get cuddles." He hugged her, breathing in her scent.

She smiled, looking outside.

"It's a perfect day. Let's go visiting."

*.*

Yami was feeling really, really antsy.

Which, considering it was a greyhound, might have been explained.

But his mind was starting to feel rather animal-like. The urge to go and hunt something kept peeking in his mind, but he wasn't hungry.

To distract himself, he glanced around.

The bus had several other people, which together contributed the feeling of empty, desolate, pain. The sky outside was gray, the bus inside was grayer, like the boat to the underworld.

The world outside was a city. Concrete and metal, a veritable forest, with people for animals. And everyone was both prey and predator, both sides ready and waiting to show.

He dug his nails into his backpack. Dammit, he needed to run!

The bus-driver pulled over, parking.

"Two hours run around time. If you're not back then, I'm going without you."

Some passengers departed.

The bus driver looked at him. Yami had been sitting nearby.

"Go on, kid," he whispered, glancing at his ticket. "Stretch your animal. We don't get to Domino for another day. You ain't gonna make it."

He blinked at the bus driver, surprised.

The day, having some identity problem or another, decided today was sunny.

If his eyes were half-closed, there was a tiny shimmer to the air.

Nodding his thanks, he exited. Glancing back after the doors closed, a mouse was crouched under a pedal.

Slipping into a shaded alleyway, he let his lion side stretch gloriously. It felt so great! Rolling his neck, rearing, just standing. He curved his back in, stretching his neck back to meet his tail.

That done, he walked around the block once as a person, bought a small thing at a corner store, then slid into the bus.

The driver was a person again. Sitting down to eat the box of jelly beans, he whispered a question. "Why did you do that?"

"Shifters take this too sometimes. I try to make sure that they make the trip. And you...You have the most hope of anyone I've seen on these buses in a long time. Some people cry on these buses, some just stare at nothing, and all are heading on a long trip to nowhere. I figured that you deserve a little help to hold that hope."

"..Thanks."

The driver nodded at the windshield.

A while later, the bus lurched onward. Yami looked outside, his outlook a little brighter. 'There's something for me in Domino, I can feel it. And I can't wait to find it.'

The sun shone outside, and just for a second, pierced the gloom inside.

S/N: The story gets darker, yet lighter. The threads of character tangle, never to unravel...

The summary (Since it obviously doesn't quite fit anymore) might get changed. A warning, for those who find this fic by it.

D/N: Yep


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